Chapter Text
Laxus stared rigidly out the huge window. The clouds rolled furiously across the sky, the wind howled far away, evoking huge waves crashing up the side of the pier. There will be a storm that he most likely caused. In the mating season, it is difficult to control his strength. That's why he was glad that he kept the house he had bought during his exile.
A lagoon in a slightly jammed part of the coast was the best place to hide from the world. Luckily, his savings allowed him to spend more than that at the time, not that he clreaned up his wallet after the purchase, there was plenty left for him to retire now and not be short for the rest of his life.
There was work to be done with it, you couldn't deny it. The house stood empty for 20 years because of the price, the location, and the former owner, who was once the master of a dark guild. But that's exactly what he needed at the time. Something that distracts him from what is happening is a little manual work and reflection. Although he did not expect which persons he would miss. He missed Evergreen's hen-motherhood around him, how she pestered him when he drank too much, how she checked his supplies before they went on a mission, he even missed her constantly making him buy new clothes because what he was wearing was a "rag." He missed Bickslow's jokes, his constant talk about nothing, and his little dolls, which he never mentioned to him, but he found them extremely cute and liked to leave them around and look at them. He also missed the senile old man, sorry, his grandfather, who was constantly worried, trying to steer him towards the right path and raise him to the best of his ability. However, there was one person. Not a single person who had ever let him rest even in his sleep, had nestled himself in his head as he worked on the house, thus unconsciously remodeling and renovating the house in such a way that he had not only his own taste, but that of this person as well, and although no one was next to him to see him, he was extremely embarrassed when he noticed this. An outside observer, if he knew this, would probably think Mirajane that she must be that person and that person she must not. The one who held his heart and soul captive was not only not Mirajane, she wasn't even a woman. From the very first moment he wanted to lay his hands on him. Not necessarily erotic, most of the time he just wanted to have him by his side, physically, on his lap, holding him close to him, maybe just wrapping his arms around him, pulling him by the waist, snuggeling his face into his soft, silky, lush hair. He respected his knowledge, intelligence and strength, he loved his humor, the sound of his laughter, the way he listened to everything in the team, how emotional he would get in private. He always paid attention to Laxus, was always by his side, helping him, supporting him, even if he wanted to do something as stupid as taking over the guild. And let's face it, nothing good came of it. That's how he ended up in this little house next to this dilapidated seaside town until he was allowed back. Of course, he kept the house. It was perfect to retreat, relax, escape from the guild, and of course there was a place to hide during mating season.
It was cool that Elektra didn't speak to him like Igneel or Metalicana did to their pupils, and she explained everything to Laxus. The old girl was good for once, for sure, he couldn't look into her eyes for 3 months after the "information", but thanks to her he knew things better, especially since his grandfather was just blooming and bee-growing. Since he is 5 years older than Natsu, he had much more time and opportunity to learn from his dragon and he learned a lot about himself. The very first thing was that he was anything but straight. I mean, he doesn't mind being with girls, but it wouldn't be a lie if someone said that his eyes sometimes lingered on guys more often when he was in a public bath with his grandfather. Elektra was completely understanding and helped Laxus navigate his feelings. And when Freed joined the league at age 17, Laxus decided where he stood on that line. However, everything was decided mostly when he started a war against the guild. He knew that his grandfather had commissioned Freed to keep an eye on him, yet knowing that he had chosen him in the end always filled him with pleasant warmth. He knew he had broken his heart when he left, but he didn't know that he had visited him at night before leaving.
Laxus walked towards the bed with slow, soft steps. He knew he shouldn't, but he wanted to see Freed one last time. His gaze glided over the bandaged, wounded body, which made him cry. He did it, it was his fault alone. This was the consequence of his wild and reckless actions, injuring those whom he never intended to hurt. He sat down on the bed as quietly as possible and just stared at him, not wanting to wake him up. As he could hear his weak, soft breaths, his heart sank. Unconsciously, he reached out to him and stroked his cheek.
"I'm sorry my storm cloud." His voice was barely audible, trembling with the feelings stirring in his soul.
" It was all because of me. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have tried. But I promise I'll make amends. I'll come back and not let you hurt again. So please wait for me."
Laxus slowly leaned against him, pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, then stood up and headed for the door. He paused when he saw Cana. An icy look of terror ran across Laxus' face, while Canae's face was pure shock.
"Laxus... you..."
Laxus caught her gaze and hurriedly passed by her.
"Don't stay away for long."
The lightning dragon stopped and looked back at the woman.
"Hurry back, don't let them wait long."
Cana looked encouragingly at Laxus, who merely nodded and then hurriedly left.
A huge lightning bolt struck through the sky, beautifully illuminating the stained glass rose window. Yes, Freed had good taste. Plus, because of the great orientation, the sun always shone through it, painting the living room in rainbow color. The only regret he had was that Freed would probably for a long time, if not ever, gonna see this.
The fact that Raijinshu has stuck with him so far was almost a miracle in itself, not to mention that they not only respected him, but were loyal and, most importantly, loved him. He was hard to love, he knew that very well, his own father and mother couldn't love him, and he often doubted whether his grandfather didn't take him out of pity. After all, in the end, even he sent him back to his father. He often felt that he had no one except the Raijinshu, that they were the only ones who cared about him despite everything, whom he could call his family.
It filled him with bitterness to think that his friends would probably never know how important they were to him and how much he loved them. His strength, even with years of training, is too unstable, sparks when happy, rumbling when sad, lightning when surprised or angry, and doomsday storm when someone hurts those he loves. He can't show anything, he always has to keep control, constant "emotionlessness" and "carelessness" don't do much to keep friendships and relationships. What would he not give to hold them to himself? Not just gently wrap your arms around them, but give them a real, tight hug. All he could hope was that one day he would be strong enough to express it to them.
"I wonder what are they doing right now?"
He thought loudly, with a gentle smile on his face.
*Magnolia*
Freed clutched the pillow and buried his face in it.
"Now seriously Ever, aren't you curious at all?"
"I'm not, Freed, it's not our business where he sneaks away in the spring, but to the gods, let go of Laxus' pillow. You know he can smell you when you hug it like that, and I don't feel like washing it at all. "
Evergreen didn't even glance at him, busy sorting out clothes while Bickslow was cleaning the window. Freed sighed heavily and put the pillow back in place.
"Seriously Freed, you'd better start cleaning up too. It's easier if we do it now and then we just have to wipe and mop up or dust sometimes."
Bickslow said, throwing a rag at the green-haired man who caught him easily.
Even if others didn't, Raijinshu knew that Laxus was happy that they keep his house tidy at this time. They have been by his side since the age of 17-18, so they easily learned to read his "empty" facial expressions. If not from his tone of voice and facial expression, their little team always knew when their leader was happy, angry, moved, or sad. For them, Laxus was an open book. That's why they've always wondered how physical he became with them towards spring. He would put his arms around them, rest his hands on their shoulders for a long time, or sit so close to them that he almost leaned against them. They never mentioned it to him, they suspected that this period might bring back bad memories, so they just let him do it.
Freed threw the rag back.
"I know, just... Since he came back, I've somehow had this bad feeling towards spring. It's like I'm missing out on something important."
"You're overthinking it. That's probably when the glass with the guild is full and he just wants to relax a bit. You don't even notice it, and these two months go by and you can nag Laxus again to your liking. "
Freed smiled at his friend.
"You're right Bickslow."
"As always. But start cleaning now, or we'll never finish. "
Sighing boredly, Freed got up from the bed and found the broom to clean underneath. He knelt by the bed and looked under it to see what he had done, and that's when he noticed something that hadn't been there for the last years. A very large wooden box. He carefully began to dredge it out with a broom. As he pulled it outward, something fell out of it. He reached for it, and when he took it out, he was surprised to see that it was a letter addressed to Ever. Then, when the whole box was outside, he was shocked to find that it was full of letters, almost all addressed to them.
"Hey, guys. I think I found something. "
The other two approached him and gathered around the box.
"Wow."
The only thing Bickslow could say out loud.
"What the hell is that? How much...?"
Evergreen was stunned.
"I don't know. Maybe 100 or more."
Freed said almost incredulously as he handed the letter in his hand to Ever, who took it a little hesitantly, opened it, and began reading it aloud.
"Dear Evergreen,
I hope that everything is fine with you and you are not overdriven in the guild. I still haven't figured out how to fix that crappy roof beam. Ridiculous, right? An S class wizard and has no idea how to repair his own house. I'm currently pausing the whole thing until I figure it out. In the meantime, I started reading a book you recommended. That adventure novel with time travel. I really like it, I hope we can talk about it. I've started looking at other works by this writer, I think you've already read most of them, so if you can recommend one, I'd really appreciate it. I know you probably won't receive this letter, but I'm still hopeful. I miss you very much, I miss all of you. It would be nice if you guys could visit me. I am quite lonely without you all and I miss you so much. I hope the ban won't last longer and my grandfather will let me back into town, if not take it back.
If you happen to receive this letter, please reply if you are not too angry with me. It would be nice to have a little conversation.
Your riend,
Laxus Dreyar"
It was a short letter with nothing essential in it, yet that little piece of paper was proof that Laxus had not forgotten them during his exile. He tried to write to them. Here was the proof, a huge box of returned letters.